a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to snowboards, and more particularly to snowboards having specially designed structural components which are strategically shaped and positioned to provide improved functional characteristics of the snowboards.
b) Background Art
Snowboards have become increasingly popular on the ski slopes as an option in addition to snow skiing. Snowboards have much in common with snow skis with regard to the basic functions of traveling over the snow surface, executing turns, etc. Yet snowboards have design requirements specific to snowboards.
Like snow skis, snowboards have their own criteria relative to proper flexural and torsional characteristics. Also, snowboards, like snow skis have desired operating characteristics, such as edge hold, easy turn initiation, stability out of the turn, overall stability and dampness (i.e. desirable damping characteristics). There have been various attempts in the prior art to manipulate or modify the designs to obtain certain specific design characteristics. For example, some snowboard flex profiles are manipulated longitudinally by differentiating the core thickness profile from tip to tail. This can make the board softer in the nose and progressively stiffer in the tail in some cases.
It is an object of the present invention to provide selectively and strategically shaped and positioned structural components as part of the snowboard structure to provide a desired balance of operating characteristics, such as those discussed above.
The structurally reinforced.snowboard of the present invention enables the snowboard to have the desired flexural stiffness distribution, while enabling the snowboard to have improved resistance to torsional deformation.
This snowboard comprises a main snowboard structure having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis. The main snowboard structure comprises:
i) a main forward portion having a front end portion;
ii) a main rear portion having a rear end portion;
iii) an intermediate portion between said front portion and rear portion, said intermediate portion having foot engaging locations thereon;
iv) side edge portions on opposite sides of the main snowboard structure;
v) a core portion extending along a substantial length of the snowboard;
vi) upper and lower surface portions extending along upper and lower surface regions of said snowboard and positioned above and below said core portion.
The reinforcing structure of the snowboard comprises upper and lower reinforcing components located at the upper and lower regions of the main snowboard structure. Each of the reinforcement components comprises at least two reinforcing strips at least in part on opposite sides of the snowboard. Each reinforcing strip has a first outer end portion and a second inner end portion. The outer end portion is located relatively nearer to a related end portion and related side portion of the main snowboard structure, and the second inner end of each strip is located further from the related end portion and the related side portion. Thus the two outer ends of the two reinforcing strips are positioned further from one another and the two inner end portions are positioned closer to one another.
The first and second reinforcing components co-act so that when the snowboard is in a curved turning configuration, improved resistance to torsional deformation is provided. In one configuration, the outer end portions are interconnected by a connecting strip portion proximate to a related end portion of the main snowboard structure. In a specific configuration, the connecting strip portion extends in a curved configuration where the connecting strip portion extends from the outer end portions of the strips toward the related end of the main snowboard structure. More specifically, the related end portion the snowboard has a rounded perimeter configuration and the connecting reinforcing strip extends adjacent to a rounded edge of the end portion of the main snowboard structure.
At least substantial strip portions of the upper and lower components are vertically and laterally aligned with one another so as to be able to co-act with portions of the main snowboard structure located therebetween.
The core portion of the snowboard is tapered in a manner that the vertical thickness of the core portion diminishes from the intermediate portion to the front and rear end portions. The vertically aligned strip portions of the upper and lower reinforcing components have at least in part substantial alignment components so that the spacing distance between the upper and lower aligned strip portions diminishes in a direction toward a related end portion of the snowboard.
In one preferred configuration, each of the two reinforcing strips has a first strip portion closer to a related end portion of the main snowboard structure and extends substantially parallel and adjacent to related side edge portions, and a second strip portion extends from an end of the first strip portion in a more diagonal direction toward a central location. In one arrangement, the second portions of the two reinforcing strips extend into the intermediate portion of the main snowboard structure. In one arrangement these reinforcing strips from the forward and rear portions of the snowboard interconnect and in another configuration they are spaced from one another.
In another arrangement, each of the two reinforcing strips extends from related side edge portions and cross one another to extend to a location adjacent to the opposite side edge portion. In one such arrangement, the two crossing reinforcing strips extend substantially the entire length of the main snowboard structure.
In another arrangement, the crossing reinforcing strips each have at least one portion of each connecting strip being connected to one another through a connecting strip portion. In this specific arrangement, the connecting strip portion extends transversely across the main snowboard structure.
In the preferred configuration, there is a first set of reinforcing components at the front end of the snowboard and a second set of reinforcing components at the rear end of the snowboard.